H.S. FIELD HOCKEY: Coach of Year: Carol Cline, Forbes Road

By LIZI ARBOGAST, @liziarbogast

Posted:
11/20/2012 09:08:51 PM EST

Carol Cline

Carol Cline

Forbes Road

Public Opinion Coach of the Year

- Why she was chosen: Cline led the Forbes Road to states after going undefeated in the Keystone district ... The Cardinals then advanced to the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class AA playoffs after beating the No. 1 seed out of District 7, Shady Side Academy, 2-1, in overtime ... Forbes Road put together a 10-game winning streak in the latter half of the season ... The Cardinals outscored their opponents 84-16 and posted 10 shutouts ... Forbes Road went 15-3-1 for the season.

- Background: A 1965 graduate of Forbes Road High School, Cline did not play field hockey until she was in college ... She was, however, a four-year letterwinner on the girls basketball team ... At Slippery Rock University, she was introduced to field hockey, but even then, she played only on the intramural squad ... She received her undergraduate degree in health and physical education ... She then got her master's degree at Shippensburg University ... When she first started teaching at Forbes Road, she was a librarian and helped develop the field hockey program ... She has been the only head coach of the program since it began in 1977 ... Cline is a 7-time P.O. Coach of the Year.

- On preseason expectations: "My ninth-graders this year were undefeated in seventh and eighth grade, so as far as our prospects coming up, they were really good," Cline said. "We knew we were going to be young, but we still had some positive things.

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We had our leading scorer, Sammie (Clippinger), returning, and Corri (Parsons) returning with her dominance and leadership, so that was a good thing. We knew we'd be young, but we thought we should be fine, and we ended up having a really good season."

- On her best memory of the season "Probably the most exciting memory had to do with that Shady Side Academy game at (Penn State's) Bigler Field at night," Cline said. "That was just so exciting, and the perseverance of the team - they kept after it - and that was so impressive."

- On winning a PIAA playoff game: "When that overtime started, it was sort of scary because (Shady Side) ruled," Cline said. "In regulation, we dominated that game, but I know how things go in hockey. The temperatures had dropped below 32 degress; our water had this ice across it. But my girls went over and beyond. The next day, they were like a bunch of football players. They kept saying, 'I used muscles I didn't know I had.' I was so impressed with them."

- On continuing to coach for so long: "I just love it," Cline said. "I love the sport, and I think it's amazing what kids can do when they have the opportunity to do it."

- What others say: Senior captain Corri Parsons said, "She knows everything about the game. She's very organized and knows what she wants at practices. She overcame breast cancer last year and back problems this year. She's just a very inspiring coach, and she never gave up on us. No matter how bad we lost or what the outcome, she always sees the positive."